The idea is really pretty simple: how to rig a Hobe 18 with wings so that you can carry enough camping gear and food to be able to go out for a few days and enjoy the water and the great outdoors....while camping as you go on convenient sand spits/beaches.

The first time I tried this idea, three of us went for a 3 day camp on the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. Very cold water, but great sailing.

Problem was, once you got all the stuff you needed for camping, there was not much room to move about the boat. So I thought about it and here is my first attempt to carry the gear but keep the tramp open. See the following pictures:

#1: shows you what it looks like when you have the cargo next hooked to the front (tramp) side of the wing.

#4 shows how to to use the cargo net to both keep the pesky (you ever notice how every line on the tramp gets caught on these seat cushions?) required throw device and your map holder ready and easy to use.

I am off in a few days to go for a 4 day catamaran camping trip on the Chesapeake Bay and will report back how well the nets did (or did not) work for me.

Anybody try another method of stowing lots of gear on a CAT?

P.S. I also made a set of DIY beach tracks to allow the boat to be brought up on the beach by sliding along a set of PVC ladders. Will post pix if anyone interested.

_________________I would rather be sailing than talking about sailing!

OldSalt, could you share the details of your trip when you return? Where did you launch and where did you overnight each evening, etc? I didn't think this was possible in the Chesapeake Bay area - I would love to take my cat, rather than charter a monohull to explore the area. Thanks!

The trip was very enjoyable, exciting, and caused me to discover several serious defects in my boat/boat rigging. Due to the volume of info I would like to share; I am currently looking into setting up a blog/website where all cruising cat captains can share their knowledge.

_________________I would rather be sailing than talking about sailing!

The rope holding all of the PVC together serves two purposes: first, once the hulls are on the first piece of PVC, it locks the sliders under the boat and keeps them from moving away from the hulls; second, by having the sliders roped together it is much easier to store them without worrying if one or more of the pipe sections can fall overboard.

Based upon a single trial (when the tide moved the hulls off of the sliders & one set of sliders ended up washing into the surf), I will probably add a line to each slider set to attach them to the boat so as to keep them from washing away.

_________________I would rather be sailing than talking about sailing!

I want to do an extended trip out on the Florida Bay starting from Flamingo and taking the fastest route north west or south east, which ever is more favorable. My idea for cargo carrying has me using two 6" or larger pvc pipes mounted on the front portion of the pontoons and sitting in a way so that there is minimum drag created when partially submerged. I am going to use the no rot pvc exterior trim material for creating the hydrodynamic stand that will pressed against a small compressible foam layer that sits between the top of the cat haul and the base. I am thinking about how I can alter the hooks on an ordinary ratchet strap to dissipate the pressure point once tightened down. The PVC pipe/cargo tube will also double as beach rollers so they must be at least 1 foot wider than the cat. I am also thinking about cutting a seattle sport dry bag so that it can be slipped over the back end and g-flexed to the tube so that there is easy access while sailing. The final result might make my cat look like a nose heavy military attack cat. I have tried to load up the under side of the benches and also made a quick frontal cross brace to hold two dry bags but in both cases I noticed unacceptable drag when sailing at limit. Any input? I sea kayaked this area many times as well as the Chesapeake Bay and am very knowledgeable of camping and boat ramp locations. Give me a shout and I can suggest a good route for you if interested!